The Myth of Feathers
by daiyaonna
Summary: Even in the shadows, away from prying eyes, they are not meant to touch. Shounenai, daisukeXsatoshi


Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Please give credit where it's due. Thanks.  
Warnings: Somewhat AU-ish, weird stuff, and not beta-ed.  
Author's Note: Written as a present for _Vasilii_. I hope you like it.

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_**The Myth of Feathers**_

"Niwa?"

The voice was soft, smooth, just as elegant as it had always been, and a chill swept down an unsuspecting spine, curling like a serpent in the bottom of now motionless feet. Russet eyes peered into the darkness of the empty classroom, anxiously searching for the body speaking so eloquently in such a seemingly desolate place. The school building had long since been deserted, left unguarded against a boy sickeningly talented at breaking locks and slipping in undetected, but the shadows weren't as empty as they appeared, a silhouette floating amidst them in silence.

"Hiwatari?" Trained ears could _hear_ the smile as the replied question was answered.

"Aa." An invisible blur danced closer, edges of the moon's light emphasizing pale blue hair and equally pale skin stained with just the smallest traces of color, of life, and the slender frame stopped inches from those grounded tennis shoes, hands resting peacefully against breath-moved sides.

They stared at each other, drinking in the dimmed features, judging and estimating what was different and what stayed the same in this ghostly environment they'd chosen as a rendezvous, and a blush formed under the scrutiny of a piercing gaze, flesh matching hair in a single swoop of cinnamon. Eyes eventually fell away after a moment, the distant pounding of their hearts echoing like a rapidly increasing drumbeat in their ears.

"H-Hiwatari-kun…"

"Is _he_ there?" the boy asked delicately, his tone having melted into a soothing pool of warmth rather than the frosty bite of punctuated words and chilling sentences.

"I…no," the other admitted, his thoughts penetrating the deepest part of his subconscious, testing the awareness of the one lying inside him. His Dark.

"Good." Hiwatari took a step forward, closing the distance between them, but a hand lifted, pressing lightly into the cotton material of his shirt.

"W-what about-"

"Sleeping," came the murmured response, pleasure radiating in that liquefying tone at such a simple statement, and Hiwatari slid nearer, watching with an uncharacteristic grin as that rounded face turned to the side, trying to ignore him and his advance.

"I…" Teeth chewed into a soft lip, and cerulean eyes narrowed in on the instantly worried flesh, curiously entranced. "I don't…understand."

"What?"

Suddenly, those huge eyes flashed with determination, honing in on him, and they were staring again, unable to move, to speak…to think. The polar opposition of their personalities was like a magnet, tugging them toward one another with invisible hands, urging with gentle prods and pushes. It would have been comforting to give in, to forgive and forget, surrender to such an enticing offer, but Hikaris and Niwas co-existed only to destroy _each other_ and nothing more. A sad reality for both of them, two boys pre-destined to hate and gain nothing from such a tiresome emotion.

Still…

Still, there was always hope, even under the most obscure situations.

Like _now_.

"Why did we have to meet **here**? It's scary!" Slender arms banded around a shivering torso, obviously comforting the fear having risen up inside, and Hiwatari would have laughed at such incompetence had he been able to. Yet, his chest was beginning to burn.

"Niwa-" Hands clamping down upon his shoulders silenced him for a brief moment, the name tangling around his tongue and sticking in his throat as he realized warm breath tickled the slope of his neck.

"Daisuke?" the boy offered, shifting closer still, pressing their chests together, and Hiwatari stopped breathing.

"S-Satoshi," he mumbled back, trying to regain a semblance of composure even as Daisuke tilted his head, grinning ever so slightly as if hiding some great secret, and he was unexpectedly drawn into the charm that was Niwa Daisuke, permanently leaving the world of breathing behind with a sharp gasp. This boy had always fascinated him, intrigued him to the point he'd almost taken up the pastime of obsessive stalking. Then again, he knew that watching out of the corner of his eye while pretending obliviousness wasn't a healthy activity to pursue, either.

Nothing about _him_ was healthy for the Hikari.

"Aa, Satoshi," he agreed, plastering himself entirely to the other with incredible naivety.

Didn't he realize-?

"D-Daisuke," Satoshi started, his thoughts running together and becoming incoherent as unfamiliar emotions coursed through him in rapid succession, and he somehow failed to make the connection between brain and mouth, only able to stare at the enclosing face and slowly closing eyes in wonder. Still, the intense flame flickering in the back of his mind smoldered severely at each silent plea for suppression.

"Satoshi," Daisuke breathed, air brushing against Hiwatari's lips, and there was that brief pivotal moment when the world stopped and nothing else seemed to exist when mouths brushed, hesitant and unsure. Satoshi grabbed Niwa's arms, jerking away in mortified shock, his ears throbbing. "–came for, ne?"

"W-what?"

There was a laugh, sharp, bright, and Hiwatari gagged, fire spreading up his spine.

"I said…eh, Satoshi?" Burgundy eyes gazed at him with general concern reflecting in their depths, and the redhead tried pulling away, afraid that he'd done something he hadn't been hinted to do. Yet, fingers gouged into his flesh, refusing to release him, and Niwa drew in a sharp breath, inevitably scared. "You-"

"Run," Hiwatari panted, his hold tightening to the point that Daisuke was beginning to lose feeling in his fingers. "Run. P-please…I don't think-"

Satoshi's abrupt scream deafened Daisuke, stirring the persona within him to groggy awareness, and they fell backwards, Niwa landing hard against the wall behind him and Hiwatari writhing on the floor, clutching repeatedly at his chest. Daisuke coughed, his back and chest stinging as if he'd been smashed into the floor, and a familiar voice was immediately pushing at his thoughts, demanding to know what was going on.

"Satoshi!" he cried, blatantly ignoring the questions bubbling in his consciousness, unable to stop himself from panicking. Daisuke stumbled towards him, wanting to help but not knowing how. "Satoshi!"

"NO!" The shriek echoed in Niwa's ears, charring his soul with an overflowing agony that ripped through him, and he staggered to a halt, eyes widening in disbelief as Hiwatari arched his back, crying out in an even louder, more strained voice when an overpowering light wrapped him in a blanket of searing white. Ashen flakes swirled around them in a cataclysmic storm, slowly melting into a schism of floating feathers that drifted around Daisuke in a gentle tornado, landing softly on the tips of his shoes, and wings emerged from Satoshi's back, the process slow and undoubtedly painful, his screams still ringing like an out-of-tune siren. "You-you said- KRAD!" Roaring vanquished every other sound as blue faded into shimmering blonde, Hiwatari's face shifting into something beautifully grotesque, and those lonely sapphire eyes altered to a slanted yellow, gleaming with unadulterated revulsion as they swallowed Niwa's motionless form in one glance.

Krad…

The taller body swayed to its feet, wavering back and forth as if getting the feel of finally possessing its own will to move, and a smirk formed on pallid lips, directed not at Daisuke but the one residing beyond that frightened expression, taunting _him_ to come out and…play. Niwa, however, wanted to flee, run as fast as he could back to the safety of his house, his bed with its protective blankets, but his legs refused to move. He even ignored Dark's ghostly pleading for control so that he could protect him.

"Satoshi," he whispered, stretching out a hand towards the slowly ascending demon shroud in holy luminance. It was foolish to openly invite such a creature **to** him, but he knew what he was doing, knew what he asked. All of this had been preordained out of necessity, out of need to be…accepted. Daisuke accepted Satoshi openly, fully, without hesitation, and that acknowledgment included the monster occupying his soul.

"Idiot boy," was the chilling reply, the tone overly haunting, gloomy in the shadows once again rising around them, and Niwa had to suppress a shudder as it zoomed up his spine, determined to prove what he felt was so very right. "Your actions are backwards."

"And whose opinion are you giving?" Daisuke asked despite the slight stutter in his voice, proud that he had yet to rely on Dark to rescue him, which the overzealous thief was protesting against to the point of borderline profanity. "Satoshi-"

"Satoshi-sama doesn't like _you_," he chided sarcastically, wings flaring at the image of such a vile atrocity. Feathers decorated the air in a sweep of unsullied snow. "Satoshi-sama _hates_ everything about you. Go away! Leave Satoshi-sama **alone**."

Daisuke bit his lip.

"Satoshi doesn't-"

"Satoshi-sama is MINE!" he growled, gloved hands clenching and unclenching as his chest heaved with a heavy intake of breath. "Mine and mine only! Satoshi-sama belongs to _me_!"

"He doesn't belong to anyone!" Daisuke cried, pressing his hands against the sides of his head to deafen the lies he was being fed. It didn't make any sense. Was this the **true** Krad? His perception of the Hikari innovation had always been somewhat dimmed when Dark was in control of his body, blocked out by the overwhelming flood of loathing washing over him.

Dark…

"Yes," the fiendish angel agreed, closing his eyes momentarily as if gathering his thoughts. "Especially not you." Suddenly, and without warning, Krad turned, the spread of his massive wings distorting Niwa's vision, causing him to blink, and in that brief second, lasting only a millisecond longer than a single beat of his heart, he'd disappeared, completely vanishing from the room. A window was left open, blinds moving gently against the breeze; Satoshi's obvious choice of entrance and Krad's only _safe_ exit. Softness brushed Daisuke's cheek a second later, caressing it with disappearing warmth, startling him, and slender fingers caught the lone fluffy object, a profound sadness befalling him.

White. The color of purity, of cleansing. Hope. Understanding.

Daisuke gripped the feather tightly, swallowing harshly even as he touched it delicately to his lips.

A lie. All of it. From the very beginning.

They wouldn't be free, not even after the final resolution bearing the answers to all their questions and all their problems presented itself. They were forever trapped in a world of myths spun by distrusting fools, never to be free to experience life and the satisfaction it was supposed to bring. Fourteen and already too old to keep what they desperately wanted.

Each other.

Hands fell and a head lowered in defeat, eyes burning. Daisuke would not cry. He could not afford such a weakness. But in the end, it was all he **could** do and the only comfort he had.

_Satoshi…_

**End**


End file.
